March 4 - 5

Hi Elijah!
Not a ton to tell you about. You did go on a couple of visits on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, I went to the gym and you went to see your Uncles. On Friday, I had a meeting from 4-5 so you went to see Great Gramma Lang. The good thing about taking you to see your Uncle is that we get lots of good photos :)


Today, I had you in a cute little outfit that Auntie Val bought you. It says "Mommy's Silly Monkey" on it. You got sick on it so I had to change you out of it. I don't know if you are going to be able to wear it again because it was kind of snug but we are going to have to try so I can get a photo :)

March 1 - 3

Hi buddy!
After a relaxing weekend, we have had a rough few days, huh? I am sure that it is going to work itself all out soon.

Monday -
You still didn't sleep enough for Mary! After daycare, you went to Gramma Debbie's for a bit while I went to the gym and your dad had a meeting. You hadn't seen her in awhile so I am sure she held you the whole time and spoiled you rotten. Your dad and I have been whispering to you to save your poo diapers for daycare and other people. That worked today! You poo'd 3 times at daycare and 1 time for Gramma Debbie. When you got home, it was serious fussy time. I don't mean the little whimpers that your dad and I laugh at. I mean the real fussy where you are in pain and I feel bad for you. Your tummy was in a lot of pain. You would fall asleep then you would cry in pain. I just wanted you to feel better. Oh, yeah and I wanted to sleep. All 3 of us were up most of the night.

Tuesday -
Another bad report card today buddy. This one had notes by two of the nap times. One of them said "Seriously?" The other one said "Are you kidding me?" Then, you got a note "Where did Mr. No Sleep come from?" We dressed you up and put you in a new sweater that you received. You were looking really dapper. Your dad said "What, is it Easter?" We went to dinner with Aunt Sheila, Sherry Shark, Cory, Lauren and Baby Jake. Afterwards, you slept really well! 9:45 - 3:30 then up for a minute at 5 and up for a minute at 7.

Wednesday -
Today was a bad day for me and you buddy. We went to the doctor and you got a good report card. Developmentally, you are doing great and you are growing like a weed. You are 13 lbs even and 25" long. While you are a big boy, at least you are well proportioned. If you were 13 lbs and 21", you would look like a porker! You are in the 75th percentile for weight and head size. You are in the 96th percentile for your height. You made your daddy proud being so long :)

We did get one note of concern at the doctor. Apparently, you spend way too much time on the right side of your head. She said she can tell how it is developing that you aren't developing evenly. So, we have to do a better job of making sure that you are doing your tummy time, your toys are more in the middle/left and rotating your head if we see it on the right.

But, then the needles came. 3 shots. Daddy held your finger while they jabbed you. At first, you were surprised. Then, you screamed. Loud. When they were done with you, I got to hold you and I had tears in my eyes because it was too painful for me to watch. (Even as I type this, I am welling up again...) I was so sad to see you in so much pain. I can't imagine what I would do if you were in "real" pain.

You can tell you aren't yourself tonight - leftovers from the shots or from the preemptive Tylenol. I can't wait for my normal Lijah to return but you were fun while you were mellow and cooing at me :)

February 28

Happy 2 month birthday baby Elijah!
You are getting to be an old man! I hope that when I say "Happy 3 month birthday baby" you are sleeping through the night. I have brainwashed myself into thinking that is it the magic number for you to sleep!

You started off the day going to the bowling alley with your dad to visit our friends Jay and Cindy. When you got home, your dad and I were working on your room. Your dad hung a picture and put your exersaucer together. Your feet touch the bottom of your exersaucer but your head and neck are not ready yet. We will keep trying! I was going through all of your clothes and weeding out all of the newborn and 0-3 months stuff. It is a shame how many clothes you wore only once or not even at all. All of them went into the Baby Jake Box.

Dad was trying to get your weight today. I think he is guessing you are going to come in at 12.5 lbs and 25" at your 2 month check up on Wednesday. I think you may be closer to 13 lbs but we will see.

Afterwards, it was time for us to go to your cousin Andrew's 10th birthday party. Man, my little nephew turning 10 makes me feel OLD. You were able to visit with Gramma Ruth and see your cousins. We left you there while we went to the gym and you got to hang out with Gramma and watch the Olympics.


It was tough keeping you awake last night buddy and the more I pushed it, the more angry you got at me. You weren't fussy with your little whimpering cries, you were angry with your big screams. I finally gave up and you went to sleep around 9:15. You slept really good all night though - up at 1 for a few minutes and up at 3:30 for a few minutes then all the way until 6:45. Even though the breaks in sleep still make your mom and dad tired, when you are only up for a few minutes, then we don't feel AS tired!

Well buddy, time to start another week at daycare and we will continue to work on our routine. I think you *may* sleep better at daycare this week because you sure did take good naps this weekend. You slept a ton - I think you were making up for being so excited all week. Maybe you will be more settled this week and sleep more for Mary.

February 26th and 27th

Hi Baby!
What a busy couple of days! You finished your first week of daycare and you were a rockstar. Your mom, on the other hand, didn't have such a good week. As we discussed, I was a bit upset on Monday. On Wednesday, I got in trouble because you were gassy. Since I had chili, I got a bad report card. On Thursday, I got a bad report card because I had you in a short sleeve onesie and it is too cold for that. On Friday, I got a bad report card because you had outgrown the outfit you were in. I think the exact words were "This should be the last time he wears this outfit." So, you passed with flying colors but your mom got lots of detention slips!

You are sleeping so much better at night but you are still not sleeping enough overall. You only slept 90 minutes all day at daycare on Friday. Mary said you are sleeping too little and eating too much. She said that you get really fussy when you are hungry and you don't get your food quick enough. I will take credit for that - me and my side of the family do like our food and we like it pronto. :) Friday night, we didn't do a whole lot. You slept a bit and we did a video chat with Auntie Val. You were so tired she only got a couple of smiles from you. You were a rock star sleeper Friday night - 10 pm until 4 am! Woohoo.


Saturday -
What a big day buddy! We had Baby Jake's shower where you were passed around the room to be loved up!

After the shower, we stripped you nekked and did a mini photo shoot. I can't wait to see how Sherry's photos turned out. I love this one on my camera and she had tons more!

We let you sleep a bit then we took you to the pool for the first time. I was so hyped to get you into the pool. I went to get your swim trunks - I bought one of each size. Ummm...one would not even fit your thigh. One would be a total speedo and thank goodness we had the "Medium". We bought you a swim shirt to keep you warm but, um.... it wouldn't go over your head. We decided to can that. Here you are in all your glory - check out those trunks!


Here is our before photo - you were in the pool but no water yet.

You cried at first - the water was a bit cold for a little guy like you. But, after a second, you liked it and you were a kid magnet. We barely got in the pool and we were surrounded by lots of kiddos. They asked me all sorts of things - Is he yours? Is he a boy? How old is he? What is his name?

You did great in the pool. I was so proud of you. We only stayed in for about 5 minutes or so because you were cold. But, next time, we will try for 10 minutes and do more activity with you. This time, we were in a hurry because the pool was closing and we couldn't do much with the kiddos surrounding us. Next time, we will work on our kick-kick-kick!



You were tired afterwards and slept some more!


Honestly Baby Lijah - it is days like today when I wonder how your dad and I survived without you. Seeing all those people wanting to love you up, seeing you in your photo shoot, talking to you and having you smile right back, seeing you in a pool and knowing how much we have to teach you. It was a gold star day! Now, I just have to keep you awake for awhile so you will sleep good again tonight.

February 24th and 25th

Hi Baby!
Each day gets easier with you going to daycare! No more tears! Yesterday morning, I was putting you in your carseat. I said to you "Bye baby, you have a good day with your new friends." You gave me the biggest smile! Makes me feel like you really do enjoy it. I have met almost all of the kiddos that you hang out with and they are pretty darn cute. It sure does seem like they like Baby Lijah - each time I pick you up, they say bye to you and give you hugs. I think you are happy there.

After daycare yesterday, we stopped to see Great Gramma and she had your Valentine's Day presents. She even made you a new horsey blanket. She was happy to see you - it had been almost two weeks. For dinner, we met Gramma Debi D at Panera - who gave you more goodies. She helped me keep you awake so you would sleep better at night. She loved you up and was surprised at how darn big you are. She is now ready for you to come visit and be babysat by her.

You did a great job sleeping last night. I kept you up all evening until 10 pm. You slept from 10-2 then ate and fell back asleep until 6. Daddy was so happy!!

I took this photo to text your cousin Brandi. She was worried that we don't dress you in anything besides your ducky onsie.


February 25
Not much to tell except you are pretty darn cute! You seem so much happier these days. I don't know if your tummy is feeling better, if you are just getting bigger, if you like daycare that much or if I am just spending more time talking to you. In any case, I so enjoy spending the evenings with you, talking to you and watching you smile. You are getting to be more fun and more active. No more newborn just sitting there!

For 3 nights in a row, we have done baths. We have done them for a couple of reasons - 1) You get a stinky butt! 2) You love the water and now you are splashing around. You are almost too big for your yellow tub. We are going to have to move you to the big tub soon. 3) it keeps you awake a bit longer and I think it helps to put you asleep a bit after we are done. I can't wait until we take you to the pool this weekend.

You were the best baby ever last night on mom's night - slept 10-3 then 3:30 - 6! Great job Elijah. That was your best night ever.

Daddy came up and took photos of you for me. I love Baby Lijah bath photos.

February 23

Hi Lijah!
Well, little one, we survived day 2! It went much smoother for us, huh? No tears from mommy! You got a good report again today from Mary. When I picked you up, I let you sleep for a bit but set a deadline of when you had to be awake. You were awake all evening! Daddy took you over to Gramma Ruth's house while I went to dinner with Grampa Keith & Heather. Your Grampa Keith bought you a stroller for his house so he can come get you from daycare and spend time with you when the weather gets warmer. He also requested an Elijah date for next weekend so he can show you off to his friends. I am not kidding when I say that you need your own social calendar, kiddo! We are still trying to plan a get together with Levi, get you down to see Aunt Becky & Uncle Steve and get you over Gramma Debi D's house. I am getting a sneak peek at what it will be like to be your taxi driver when you are in school and have activities.

Before I went to dinner, I had you in the bathroom with me while I was doing my hair. We were acting silly together and I took some silly photos. You were in such good spirits - such big smiles. After dinner, it was bath time. I was using it as a method to keep you awake longer but you also needed it. You were still in such a good mood all those hours later. I was singing to you while you were in the tub "Lijah has a stinky butt." You would just smile at me. You really do love the tub and I really like it when "Lijah's not a stinky butt" - the song we sing after bath time.

Sleep was a bit better on Mommy's watch tonight. You weren't awake for hours at a time overnight so I feel like I got a bit of rest. We will have to hope that you do just as well for daddy tomorrow night as he is still tired from last night.

February 22

Hi Elijah!
Well, today was your big day buddy! You were off to daycare and your mom stayed home and cried! I really am shocked at my reaction to you going to daycare. Your dad was a little shocked at me too. Mary called me around 10 to let me know that you were doing fine and you were already playing with the kiddos. I was able to resist picking you up until 3:45! You got your first report card and Mary said you had a great day but in the afternoon you got a little bit overtired.

She was surprised at how little you slept. You slept for 20 minutes then would wake up wanting to be picked up. We are back to that spoiling thing again! Your dad and I have kind of created a bad situation here. We always want you spend time with any of our friends and family that want to hang out with you. But, when people want to hang out with you and love you up, they want to hold you all of the time. I can't blame them because you are pretty darn cute when you are sleeping! We gotta break that cycle though because you need to be able to nap on your own without being held. Shouldn't be too hard to break the cycle this week because I don't think I am going to be able to let you go over anyone's house for very long since I miss you so much! On the other hand, your dad and I definitely have to get back to the gym pronto!

The night was not good baby! You slept too much in the evening then was up from 1-4 am overnight. We will have to try again tonight to get this figured out.

Anyway Lijah, we survived the first day! You made new friends and mommy relied on her friends' support to get her through the day!

I took a photo of you in our favorite ducky outfit. You wore this all the time when you were a newborn and we ended up with two sizes. I thought it was a 6 month size but it was a 3 month. Won't be wearing it too much longer!